This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Prioritising people for rapid assessment by a sleep service - obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Prioritising people for rapid assessment by a sleep service - obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS)

When referring people with suspected OHS to a sleep service, include the following information in the referral letter to facilitate rapid assessment:

  • results of the person's sleepiness score
  • how sleepiness affects the person
  • BMI
  • comorbidities
  • occupational risk
  • oxygen saturation and blood gas values, if available
  • any history of emergency admissions and acute non-invasive ventilation

Within the sleep service, prioritise people with suspected OHS for rapid assessment if any of the following apply:

  • they have severe hypercapnia (PaCO2 [partial pressure of carbon dioxide] over 7.0 kPa when awake)
  • they have hypoxaemia (arterial oxygen saturation less than 94% on air)
  • they have acute ventilatory failure
  • they have a vocational driving job
  • they have a job for which vigilance is critical for safety
  • they are pregnant
  • they have unstable cardiovascular disease, for example, poorly controlled arrhythmia, nocturnal angina, heart failure or treatment-resistant hypertension
  • they are undergoing preoperative assessment for major surgery
  • they have non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy

Reference:

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.